No place in society

Here we go again. A road rage incident caused the death of 65-year-old Aniceto Mateo, a stay-in driver of a family in Ayala Alabang. The DILG and PNP have identified the suspect as Gerard Raymond Yu. According to eyewitnesses, the Innova driven by Mateo and the black Mercedes figured in an altercation. Both vehicles did not stop for a confrontation. The suspect just shot Mateo. Mateo had a 47-year-old woman and a 7-year-old passenger. They had just picked up the child from school and were heading home.

Fortunately, authorities were able to apprehend Yu quickly. He tried to trick the authorities and changed the license plate of the black Mercedes. The original plate was found inside the vehicle. Smart. But there were many witnesses and even videos of the incident to confirm the original plate. The gun that was used and another gun were also found, and according to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO), there are no registered guns in the name of the suspect. He faces charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms. He might be in jail for a long time, as it should be. Such a person has no place in society. His attitude reeks of toxic entitlement, believing he could do anything including shooting an unarmed person. Owning unregistered firearms and using them may indicate he knows someone in the higher-ups. If I were the parent of the child Mateo picked up, I would also charge him with endangerment of a minor. What if the child was hit?

The debate or discussion of civilian gun ownership will be revived. As far as I know, civilians can now buy powerful caliber rifles such as the M16 and M4. It seems that instead of making it harder for civilians to own a gun, they made it easier. Those in favor of civilian gun ownership will say the suspect's guns are unregistered, and a criminal will have access to loose firearms. Law-abiding people are more cautious knowing their guns are easy to find if used unlawfully. That may be too generalized a statement. We have seen registered gun owners get involved in fatal road rage shootings too.

In the end, it is always the unarmed such as Mateo who lose dearly. What I want to know is how Yu possesses unregistered firearms. Is the black market for loose, unregistered firearms very lucrative? Don’t all firearms coming into the country undergo registration with the PNP-FEO? This is what the PNP should address. I’m sure there are still plenty out there, just waiting for someone like Yu, no pun intended, to pick one up and one day use it.